The story of a place
Sedimentary colour revealed through folds, erosion and changing light.
Zhangye's colourful hills are most convincing when understood as geology rather than a promise of exaggerated colour. Layers, slopes and gullies reveal the structure of the landscape, with light and weather strongly affecting appearance.
Use the managed viewpoints to compare different forms. Photographs with extreme saturation should not set expectations for the natural scene.
The essential experience
Make time for this.
Visit several official viewpoints in changing light and look for the relationship between layers and landforms.
Explore the highlights
Look a little closer.
Watch Zhangye’s coloured sedimentary bands follow the folds of the eroded hills.
Strata
Follow a coloured band across more than one slope.
Erosion channels
Notice how water cuts through the layers.
Light direction
Compare front-lit and side-lit views.
For the curious reader
History, landscape
and context.
Zhangye National Geopark is located in Sunan and Linze counties within the prefecture-level city of Zhangye, in Gansu, China. It covers 322 square kilometres (124 sq mi). The site became a quasi-national geopark on 23 April 2012 (provisional name: Zhangye Danxia Geopark).
Background reading: an abridged extract from Zhangye National Geopark, by Wikipedia contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and shortened for this guide. Retrieved 22 September 2026. Source revision ↗.
Turn curiosity into a visit
Plan your visit.
- Physical demands
- Managed paths and steps with sun and wind exposure.
- The practical detail
- Stay on designated routes; the coloured slopes are not an open walking playground.
Before you set off.
Your ticks stay in this browser.Through the seasons
A place in the world
Find your bearings.
Select the pin to open a detailed map. Use Closer look to see the surrounding region. Drag to move a zoomed map.
Map: Natural EarthA closer view.
Load the local map to explore the surrounding area. Map tiles require an internet connection.
- 1Zhangye DanxiaOpen directions ↗ · Location reference ↗
A sense of place
In pictures.
Keep looking.
10 photographs, with full-size views and individual credits.
Go a little further
